From Delegate Rob Bell (R-58th House) in neighboring Albemarle County….
As reported in the Washington Post, Governor McDonnell has signed the bill to place my House Joint Resolution 3 on the ballot for November, 2012.
The Amendment would state that the government could only take private property for public use (not “public purpose”). In addition, the government would be required to take no more property than necessary for the public use, and the Government would bear the burden of proving that the use was, in fact, public.
We are all obviously very excited that the voters will have a chance to stand up for property rights. The General Assembly passed a law in 2007 that I patroned with then-Senator Ken Cuccinelli to protect property rights. However, along with other legislators, I believe property rights are fundamental, and need the additional protections provided by the Constitution.
We now need to turn our efforts to passing the referendum, which will be on the ballot on November 6, 2012. If you would like to help, I hope you will sign my property rights petition.
To sign, go to the Virginia Property Rights Amendment petition.
Cross-posted at LynnRMitchell.com